Display tray

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a generally planar upper surface. The upper surface has at least two upstanding walls, each wall having a profiled edge for receiving and supporting a generally cylindrical object. At least one of the walls is removable from the upper surface.

The present invention relates to a display device.

Display devices for writing instruments, by means of which the writinginstruments can be displayed in a shop for viewing by prospectivepurchasers, are often made of vacuum-formed recessed trays. The writinginstruments are simply put into shallow elongate recesses in the trayswhich are often kept in drawers in a display cabinet in a shop. If acustomer wishes to view the writing instruments, the trays will be movedas they are retrieved from the cabinet and presented to the customer.This can lead to damage of the surfaces of the writing instruments sincethey can slide about in the trays as the drawers in which the trays arestored are opened and closed and also when the trays are passed to thecustomer. In addition, these recessed trays are generally unattractiveand have little scope for varying the display effect.

According to the present invention, there is provided a display devicehaving a generally planar upper surface, the upper surface having atleast two upstanding walls, each wall having a profiled edge forreceiving and supporting a generally cylindrical object.

In this specification, reference will be made to the display device fordisplaying writing instruments in particular. However, it is to beunderstood that the device can be used for displaying other generallycylindrical objects.

The writing instruments can be laid across the upstanding walls to besupported by the walls.

The profiled edges of the walls preferably include a plurality ofrecesses, each recess being for receiving a cylindrical object. Byproviding a plurality of recesses, the writing instruments or otherobjects can be laid across the two walls generally at a right angle tothe length of the walls, or at some other angle. This enables someflexibility in the display, for example, allowing the writinginstruments or other objects to be fanned out across the display device.

At least one of the walls may be removable from the upper surface. Saidat least one removable wall may be an elongate strip which is profiledon each of its opposed long edges. The profiles on the opposed longedges may differ from one another. This enables further variation in thedisplay effect since a different pitch between adjacent writinginstruments or other objects can be achieved according to which longedge is uppermost.

Preferably, the arrangement is such that a cylindrical object-issupported by the walls so as not to contact the upper surface. This hastwo main advantages. Firstly, the object is held away from the surfaceand is thus protected from damage by contact with the upper surface.Secondly, since the object is held out of contact with the surface, anydisplay background can be used, thus allowing greater scope in thedisplay effect which may be achieved.

The walls are preferably made of a material with a relatively highcoefficient of friction. This prevents the objects from sliding aroundon the display device. For example, the walls may be made ofpolyvinylchloride (PVC).

An example of the present invention will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first example of a display device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second example of a display device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the display device of FIG. 2 withwriting instruments in a "fanned" orientation;

FIGS. 4 to 7 are partial elevations of walls and cross-sections throughthe display device showing examples of profiles of the walls;

FIG. 8 shows writing instruments of different sizes being supported by awall; and,

FIG. 9 is an elevation of a wall having different profiles on its upperand lower edges.

A display device 1 has a generally rectangular or square base 2 in theform of a tile. The base 2 has a pair of parallel elongate grooves 3, 4in its upper surface 5. The elongate grooves 3, 4 extend across the baseand divide the upper surface 5 into three roughly equal portions.

A pair of elongate strips 6, 7 have a thickness which is substantiallyequal to the thickness of the respective grooves 3, 4 so that the strips6, 7 can be snugly received in the respective grooves 3, 4 to form twoupstanding walls.

Each strip 6, 7 has an upper long edge 8 and a lower long edge 9. Atleast the upper edge 8, and preferably also the lower edge 9, of eachstrip 6, 7 is profiled. In the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, theprofiling is in the form of a sawtooth which defines a plurality oftriangular recesses 10 along the upper edge 8 of the strip 6, 7. As canbe seen in FIG. 8, the triangular recesses 10 can easily accommodaterelatively large diameter writing instruments 11 or relatively smalldiameter writing instruments 12 or intermediate size writing instruments13.

Examples of different profiles for the strip 6, 7 are shown in FIGS. 4to 6, each profiling providing recesses 10 which can receive writinginstruments, which may be of different sizes as in FIG. 8.

Both the upper and lower edges 8, 9 of the strips 6, 7 may be profiled.The profiling on the respective upper and lower edges 8, 9 may bedifferent as shown in FIG. 9. The pitch between adjacent recesses 10 maydiffer between the upper and lower edges 8, 9 to provide differentspacing between adjacent writing instruments 11 or other objectsdisplayed on the device 1. Alternatively or additionally, the recesses10 may be relatively deeper on the lower edge 9 compared to the upperedge 8 of the strips 6, 7 to accommodate a greater range of size ofwriting instruments 11.

The strips 6, 7 are preferably made of a material having a relativelyhigh coefficient of friction, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), athermoplastic elastomer, or natural or synthetic rubber, so that thewriting instruments 11 are gripped firmly and are less prone to slidingoff the strips 6 when the device 1 is moved.

A supporting ridge 14 may be provided along one edge of the base 2parallel to the strips 6, 7, the supporting ridge 14 standing proud ofthe upper surface 5. This provides a backstop against which the writinginstruments 11 may rest. The recesses 10 of the strip 6 furthest awayfrom this supporting ridge 14 may be relatively higher than the strip 7which is relatively nearer the ridge 14 so that the writing instruments11 are inclined slightly backwards to the ridge 14.

A second example of a display device is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In thisexample, the base 2 is wedge-shaped as shown so that the writinginstruments 11 tilt backwards. Also, instead of the ridge 14 of theexample of FIG. 1, a clear plastics wall 15 is provided as the backstopto support the rear of the writing instruments 11.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the writing instruments 11 are shown generallyparallel to the side edges of the base 2. The writing instruments 11 mayalternatively be fanned across the device 1 as shown in FIG. 3. This maybe achieved by using one strip 6 in which the recesses are spaced havinga relatively small pitch and a second strip 7 in which the recesses 10have a relatively greater pitch, the writing instruments 11 then beingplaced in adjacent recesses 10. Alternatively, as shown, the upper partof each writing instrument 11 can simply be placed in alternate recesses10 in one of the strips 7 where the two strips 6, 7 have the same orsubstantially the same spacing between recesses 10.

It will be seen that the writing instruments 11 are supported by thestrips 6 so as not to contact the upper surface 5, simply by arrangingthat the lower portions of the recesses 10 are sufficiently clear of theupper surface 5. This means that any material can be used for the uppersurface 5. This in turn means that there is no restriction on thebackground which may be applied to the upper surface 5, thus giving freechoice to the display effect to be achieved. For example, the uppersurface 5 may be made of wood, metal, stone, plastics, etc. The uppersurface 5 may be detachably clipped to the base 2 so that differentdisplay backgrounds for the upper surface 5 can be used interchangeably.

It will be appreciated that more than two walls 6 may be used ifrequired, though for supporting writing instruments, it is believed thattwo walls 6, 7 would be sufficient.

The undersurface of the base 2 may have recesses or protuberances whichenable it to be stacked on top of other tiles or some other support.This enables adjacent display devices 1 to be displayed at differentheights in a showcase, which enhances the attractiveness of the overalldisplay.

We claim:
 1. A display device having a generally planar upper surface,the upper surface having at least two upstanding walls, each wall havinga profiled edge for receiving and supporting a generally cylindricalobject, at least one of the walls being removable from the uppersurface, wherein said at least one removable wall is an elongated stripwhich is profiled on each of its opposed long edges.
 2. A display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the profiled edges of the walls include aplurality of recesses, each recess being for receiving a cylindricalobject.
 3. A display device according to claim 1, wherein the profileson the opposed long edges differ from one another.
 4. A display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the profiled edges of the walls areprofiled such that a generally cylindrical object supported on the edgeswill not contact the upper surface.
 5. A display device according toclaim 1, wherein the walls are made of a material with a relatively highcoefficient of friction.
 6. A display device according to claim 5,wherein the walls are made of polyvinylchloride (PVC), a thermoplasticelastomer, natural rubber or synthetic rubber.